When Brilliant Classics announced its Schütz Edition about
ten years ago one got the impression that the complete works
of Heinrich Schütz would be recorded. The first three volumes
(vol.
1; vol.
2) appeared within a couple of years, and then the Edition
seemed to have been foundered. Apparently that was not the case
as this set includes the fourth volume which was recorded in
2008 (review).
That recording has never crossed my path, though, and I wonder
if it was ever released separately. The fact that all four volumes
are now reissued as the Heinrich Schütz Edition suggests
that this is all we will get. Some of Schütz’s main
works are included, but some important parts of his oeuvre are
omitted, such as the Psalmen Davids, the Symphoniae
Sacrae III and the so-called Schwanengesang. His
many independent works and compositions for special occasions
are also omitted as is one of his most underrated and largely
neglected collections, the Beckerscher Psalter. Do we
need to regret that there isn't more? Probably not, considering
the weaknesses in these recordings.

The first volume of this project included the two collections
of Symphoniae Sacrae which were printed in 1629 in Venice
and in 1647 in Dresden respectively (discs 1-5). They were all
written in the modern concertante style which was developed
in Italy. They’re scored for one to three solo voices
and basso continuo, with additional melody instruments, mostly
two violins. In some concertos Schütz requires an ensemble
of sackbuts. The Cappella Augustana largely comprises Polish
singers. That is problematic in the Symphoniae Sacrae II:
these concertos are written on German texts, and most singers
have great problems with the pronunciation. That is not an issue
in the Symphoniae Sacrae I which set Latin. Here it is
the diction which is under par, and which is partly responsible
for mostly rather poor verbal expression. Some parts in Schütz’s
music create problems because of their pitch: they are too low
for an alto and too high for a average tenor. In some concertos
(for instance SWV 259) Krzystof Szmyt has considerable problems
in hitting the top notes of his part properly. In SWV 348 the
alto Piotr Lykowski switches to his chest register to sing the
low notes, but that doesn’t help all that much. Here a
tenor with a good high register is needed, like the French hautecontre.
Harry van der Kamp sings all the pieces for bass solo in both
collections of the Symphoniae Sacrae, and he is head
and shoulders above anyone else in the ensemble. Since this
repertoire is bread and butter for him, he is able to impart
real meaning to what he sings, through articulation, dynamic
shading and the coloration. These are the things which one sorely
misses in the performances of his colleagues.

Some aspects of performance practice applied are questionable.
In general tempi are too slow. As a result in many cases the
rhythmic pulse is underexposed. The Symphoniae Sacrae I
were printed in Venice, but that doesn't necessarily mean that
they were frequently performed in Italy. It is much more likely
that they were largely used in chapels and churches in Germany.
Therefore adopting Italian pronunciation of Latin is suspect.
The same is true of the choice of an Italian organ in the basso
continuo. A German type instrument would have been more appropriate.
Matteo Messori uses a large organ, and it is certainly true
that as a rule church music was not accompanied on small organs
such as are mostly used today. That said, it is by no means
certain that the sacred concertos were always performed in church.
It is also possible that they were used as 'table music', to
be performed during dinner, or in private rooms at court. That
makes the use of a small organ or even a harpsichord more plausible.
The way Messori uses the organ is sometimes debatable. That
is the case, for instance, in Lobet den Herrn in seinem Heiligtum
(SWV 350). It is a setting of Psalm 150 in which various
instruments are mentioned, like the trumpet, the harp and the
timbrel. Messori illustrates these with various stops of the
organ, for instance the regal. Schütz depicts these instruments
through musical figures in the vocal part and the two instrumental
parts. Adding something in the organ is not only superfluous,
it detracts from the illustrative role of the vocal and instrumental
parts.

On disc 5 we also find the Weihnachtshistorie. The performance
is certainly not devoid of drama. It is damaged, though, by
the poor German pronunciation and insufficiently declamatory
performance of the Evangelist by Krzystof Szmyt. Moreover, the
blending of the voices in some Intermedia is less than
ideal. The Intermedium I - the annunciation of Jesus'
birth to the shepherds - loses its effect because the tempo
is just too slow.

Volume two can be found on discs 6 to 10 of this set. These
are devoted to three large and important collections of strongly
differing character. Discs 6 and 7 contain the Cantiones
Sacrae, printed in 1625 and scored for four voices with
basso continuo. They are rooted in the stile antico,
but there is a quite close connection between text and music.
In his book on Schütz the German scholar Otto Brodde typifies
them as sacred madrigals and compares them with the Fontana
d'Israel, the collection of sacred madrigals by Schütz’s
friend Johann Hermann Schein. The choice of texts - a mixture
of biblical verses and pre-Reformation meditative poems - points
in the direction of performances in the homes of aristocrats
rather than the liturgy. That justifies the performance with
one voice per part. The four singers in the Cantiones Sacrae
are all different from those in the previous recordings; as
a result these performances are much better. The voices blend
well, although I would have liked a less direct recording which
would have resulted in a stronger ensemble effect. The expression
of the texts comes off quite well. A specific matter of interest
is the basso continuo part. It seems that Schütz added
it at the request of his publisher. In some performances and
recordings it is omitted and it’s rarely missed. The basso
continuo isn't much more than a basso seguente anyway.
The Italian pronunciation of Latin is definitely not justified
here. Several motets are connected, as indications like prima
pars and secunda pars show. In this recording there
is too much silence between these parts.

The first collection of Kleine Geistliche Konzerte (discs
8 and 9) was printed in 1636 in Leipzig. The component parts
are scored for one to four voices and bc, and set German texts.
The singers are a mixture of 'old' and 'new' as it were, as
some performers from the first recordings put in an unwelcome
return appearance. The quality of the interpretations depends
on the singers in the respective concertos. Most of them have
great problems with the German language. This is especially
damaging as in Schütz’s music the text is close to
everything. He wasn't nicknamed musicus poeticus without
reason. The singers tend to do too little in regard to dynamics
and ornamentation while the basso continuo section often does
too much. Schütz’s music certainly has theatrical
traits and is influenced by the Italian music of his time. However
Schütz is no Monteverdi, and here the accompaniment is
often too dramatic and distracts from the vocal part.

The madrigals (disc 10) are Schütz’s first published
collection. It was the direct result of his studies with Giovanni
Gabrieli. They are scored for five voices; the last - on a text
by Schütz himself - is for eight voices in two 'choirs'.
They are performed with apposite text expression and without
exaggeration. These performances do however have two serious
defects. The first is that a couple of singers use vibrato and
this damages the ensemble. The second is the use of the harpsichord
as an accompaniment. The score does not suggest the use of an
instrument. That’s not a problem in itself but the harpsichord
is by no means the best choice especially when it is as obtrusive
as it is here.

Discs 11 to 14, originally the third volume of this project,
are devoted to music for Passiontide and Easter. We meet here
two sides of Schütz: on the one hand two pieces in the
modern concertante style - the Sieben Worte Jesu Christi
and the Auferstehungshistorie. On the other hand there
are the three Passions which bring us back to the stile antico.
The Historia der Auferstehung Jesu Christi dates from
1623. For the part of the Evangelist Schütz keeps the traditional
recitation tone, called Easter tone. He modifies it according
to the fashion of the time by introducing Affekt and
madrigalisms. This way the Historia loses some of its
objectivity in favour of a stronger expression of the dramatic
nature of the events and the emotions of the characters figuring
in the story. The part of the Evangelist is assigned to the
German tenor Gerd Türk which is a guarantee of perfect
pronunciation. Despite this the performance as a whole fails
to convince. The tempo of the opening chorus seems a little
too slow. This is confirmed in the recitation of the Evangelist,
which is not as naturally flowing as it should be. Syllables
of lesser importance get too much emphasis. This wouldn’t
have happened if a more natural speech-like tempo had been adopted.
He is accompanied by viole da gamba. Their playing is so dramatic,
with such strong dynamic differences, that Türk is almost
overpowered from time to time. It seems to me that this style
of playing is much more suitable to dramatic works by Italian
composers than to the sacred oeuvre of Heinrich Schütz.
The same is the case with the Sieben Worte Jesu Christi am
Kreuz (disc 14), although here it is a little less extreme
and therefore less damaging. The various vocal parts are mostly
well sung.

The three Passions (discs 12 to 14) date from the latest
stages of Schütz’s life. There is evidence of performances
in 1666, but it is thought that the St Luke Passion was
composed first, possibly as early as 1653. The American scholar
Daniel Melamed, in his liner-notes for Paul Hillier's recording
of Schütz’s St Luke Passion (reviewed
here), emphasizes the detached character of the Passions.
The soliloquents are not supposed to sing with such strong expressive
force. It was not Schütz’s aim to move the audience,
only to recount the story. "The Evangelist's words (...) are
intoned in a kind of chant whose melodic contours are modest
and whose largely unspecified rhythms are presumably meant to
follow stylized speech. (...) In comparison to Bach's music
the effect is stark and much less obviously expressive". The
performances in this set are different. In particular in the
St Matthew Passion Türk emphasizes some words and
phrases in the interests of expression. Whether that was his
decision or Messori’s we do not know. The liner-notes
shed no light on the subject. The other two Passions are a little
more modest in this respect but all three would have been more
telling with a naturally speech-like rhythm from the Evangelist.
This would have resulted in a somewhat faster tempo. In the
interests of good pronunciation it was a wise decision, though,
to assign the part of the Evangelist to Gerd Türk and that
of Jesus to Bas Ramselaar. I am still awaiting really satisfying
performance of the Passions; these recordings certainly do not
fit that bill.

The second collection of Kleine Geistliche Konzerte is
allocated to discs 15 to 17. It differs from the first collection
in that it also includes concertos on a Latin text. All are
scored for solo voice(s) and bc. One piece is completely different:
Sei gegrüßet, Maria is a dialogue between
Mary and the angel, which is for two solo voices (soprano and
alto respectively) and closes with a five-part chorus. Also
participating are a cornett and four sackbuts. The German pronunciation
is less of a problem here, because the two altos, the two tenors
and one of the basses are native German speakers. That in itself
doesn't guarantee good performances. Some concertos are done
rather well, but on the whole these performances suffer from
a lack of expression. There is too little dynamic shading, and
the key elements in the text are left without colour. Various
texts contain dramatic elements, and Matteo Messori tries to
make up for the lack of expressive edge from the singers by
doing too much in the basso continuo. The use of both an organ
and a spinettino in various concertos feels exaggerated. The
collection ends with the two longest pieces, Quemadmodum
desiderat cervus and Aufer immensam, Deus, aufer iram.
Unfortunately this pair palls because the singers remain impassive
and detached.
==========
On disc 17 we also find the Musicalische Exequien, one
of Schütz’s most impressive compositions. Only recently
I reviewed
an outstanding interpretation by Vox Luminis, where you can
find more information about this piece. The performance by the
Cappella Augustana is certainly not bad; in fact, it is one
of the better parts of this set. The problem once again is that
the singers make little of the text. There is a measure of verbal
declamation but dynamically and rhythmically the performance
lacks profile and contrast. These features also undermine the
Geistliche Chor-Music which takes up the last two discs.
With this collection which was printed in 1648, Schütz
pays tribute once again to his teacher Giovanni Gabrieli. In
his preface he emphasizes the importance of counterpoint. These
motets can be performed with voices and basso continuo - that
is how it is performed here - but also with instruments playing
colla voce. This version is interesting in that it is
the only one available - as far as I know - in which all the
motets are sung with one voice per part. That in itself inclined
me to endorse this performance, but unfortunately the overall
standard achieved is just not good enough. One of the prerequisites
with one voice per part is that the singers are outstanding
soloists and can also sing as an ensemble and make their voices
blend. That is not the case here. The singers are good at best
or mediocre at worst, but none of them is outstanding. The sopranos
make little impression and their voices are pretty bland. They
seem not able to express the text. The two tenors are better
as is evident from Was mein Gott will, das gscheh allzeit.
A major problem is the slow tempo in most of these motets. In
many cases it seriously undermines the rhythmic pulse and detracts
from what should be their lively joyful character. Rhythmic
contrasts in Die mit Tränen säen are merely
hinted at rather than vividly realised.

Let me sum up. The initiative to record a major part of Schütz’s
oeuvre for a budget label is admirable. The liner-notes show
that Messori has invested much time and energy in this project.
The performances are sympathetic but unfortunately mostly not
of a standard that brings them up to the competition. The overall
quality of the singers is lacking, and the many changes in the
line-up - sometimes for the better - lead to problems with ensemble.
You can't just put together a number of singers and change them
at will from one piece to the next. The best performances come
from ensembles whose members have worked together on a regular
basis for a long time. Moreover, in Schütz’s music
the text always lies at the heart and that makes unacceptable
performances by those who have problems with the pronunciation
of German. The earliest recordings of pieces in German are pretty
painful. The generally slow tempi, the lack of dynamic accenting
and the underexposure of the rhythmic pulse further undermine
these performances.

Some music-lovers unfamiliar with Schütz’s music
will probably be tempted to purchase this set. I am afraid that
it will not convince them that it is worth exploring. Schütz
is one of my favourite composers, but I was regularly rather
bored while listening to this set. If you want to become acquainted
you are probably better off spending a little more money on
first-rate recordings. So let me just give some alternatives:-
Kleine Geistliche Konzerte and Cantiones Sacrae:
Weser-Renaissance/Manfred Cordes (CPO) Symphoniae Sacrae I: Concerto Palatino (Accent); La Capella
Ducale and Musica Fiata/Roland Wilson (deutsche harmonia mundi)
Symphoniae Sacrae II: La Capella Ducale and Musica Fiata/Roland
Wilson (Sony); the Purcell Quartet (Chandos) Weihnachtshistorie: Gabrieli Consort and Players/McCreesh
(Archiv; especially recommendable because of the liturgical
context); La Petite Bande/Sigiswald Kuijken (deutsche harmonia
mundi). I also would like to mention the recording of the Weihnachtshistorie
and the Auferstehungshistorie on one disc with the Kammerchor
Stuttgart under Frieder Bernius (Sony). The latter work is also
available with Concerto Vocale (René Jacobs; Harmonia
mundi) and Weser-Renaissance (CPO). Geistliche Chormusik: Knabenchor Hannover/Heinz Hennig
(deutsche harmonia mundi); Dresdner Kammerchor/Hans-Christoph
Rademann (Carus); Weser-Renaissance (CPO). Musicalische Exequien: Vox Luminis (Ricercar); Collegium
vocale Gent/Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia mundi) Il primo libro de madrigali: Cantus Cölln (Harmonia
mundi)
The Passions are not available yet in satisfying recordings.